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Word for Today:  December 6

The Heart of Scripture.

The heart of revealed Scripture is prophetic and messianic in nature.  God promised our deliverance from sin’s control and dominion in the first Book of the Bible.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Gen. 3:15

The moment Adam sinned, God immediately set in motion a Plan to redeem His Dream.  Here God promises to do Something to bruise the head of satan.

The “It” that will bruise satan’s head is the seed of a woman.  That Seed is Jesus.  The bruise that satan renders to the Seed of woman is the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Here in the very beginning of the written Word, God accurately prophecies that Jesus will come to earth and do something about the devil.

It will take God’s immeasurable Grace and the Obedience of His Immaculate Son…

It will take a Calvary and a Cross

Word for Today:  December 5

Worship God.

Come before His Presence.  Stand in Awe of His Glory and His Goodness and His Power.  Be still.  Listen.  Wait.  Be quiet.  Weep.  Tremble.  Fall on your face.  Bow down.  Kneel. Worship God.  Get lost in God.  Get “caught up” in God.  Stand before Him.

When the Glory filled the temple in the Old Testament the priests could not minister so powerful was the Presence of God.  On the Day of Pentecost in Acts, the saints who were filled with God staggered as drunk men and spoke in unlearned languages.

All around them people knew that something supernatural had taken place.  Some were amazed.  Some were confounded.  Some marveled.  All were moved by the awesome Presence of God… They Worshipped and God responded.

I walked into a convention center filled with over 1000 people 40 years ago and was met by an overwhelming Presence of the Holy Spirit.  Those present were mesmerized in True Worship.  They were singing in the Spirit.  They were praying in the Spirit.  Some were standing with uplifted hands, others were kneeling…. They were weeping and rejoicing and dancing and many were prostrate on the floor laying at the feet of their Glorious God.

They were as one and they all were literally “drunk with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2).  It was the most moving and emotional meeting I had ever experienced in my entire life.  It was at that moment God let me know I could have More of Him than I had ever received.

This revelation came in the atmosphere of True Worship.  I remember rushing to the altar for prayer.  I remember a saintly Episcopalian Rector who laid hands on me and gently prayed for me.  I was literally flooded with the awesome and Real Presence of the Holy Spirit…

and my life and ministry were forever changed.

Word for Today:  December 4

The Pre-Incarnate Christ.

The pre-incarnate Jesus is clothed in the Splendor and Glory of the Omni-powerful God.  He is shares co-equally with Him in all things.

He is Omniscient and Omnipresent as well as Omnipotent.  He is immutable.  He is not just a “babe born in a stable and wrapped in rags”… He is God.  Almighty God.  He is the Eternal LOGOS.  He is the Creative Agent of all that came into being as God Spoke:  “Let there be…!”

Jesus is the Force and the Power behind Creation.

He was in the world, and the world was made by Him… John 1:10.

Heaven is His Domain and the earth is His footstool…  By Him and through Him all things consist (hold together).

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col 1:17

In order for us to really behold His Glory, we have to transition from our “Bible Story” concept of Jesus…  “Meek and mild…” as a “Helpless child…”  Our early concept of Jesus has, for the most part, remained unchanged.  We have greater revelation therefore we must leave the “principles” and move on into the “perfection” of our knowledge about Him.

Some see Jesus as broken and bleeding and dead… impaled on a cross… the victim of hatred and religious prejudice.  Some can only behold a Dead Jesus.  They see the Crown of Thorns and the Bleeding Side and the Beaten Back.  They are moved to pity Him and feel sorry for Him.  They have developed a concept of His Human Limitations and see Him as weak and helpless.

The Jesus of the Word is All-Powerful.

• He is Deity Personified.
• He is the Face of God.
• He is Majestic, He is Awesome,
• He is Full of Power.
• He is Originator, Creator and Sustainer.
• He is the All in All.
• He is the Great I AM.
• He is LORD OF ALL

And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.  Rev 19:16

“And the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth…”  John 1:14

“For God so loved the world that He gave…”  John 3:16

Somewhere under all the hustle and hurry of this Holiday Season, there is a real meaning to Christmas.  Most of what we see, and experience is superficial and meaningless.  It must be more than spending money, buying things, decorating trees, giving gifts and feasting.  It must be more than what most people make it.  I believe we can discover the real meaning of Christmas.  What is it all about?  What does it all mean?  Why did Jesus come?

FIRST:  Christmas is all about JESUS.  It is a season to celebrate and commemorate His Birth.  It is a time to remember the Greatest Thing that ever occurred on Planet Earth.  God was Made Flesh and came into this world to dwell among us!  What a Miracle!

SECOND:  Christmas means God so loved that He gave.  God is the First and Ultimate Gift Giver.  He saw a world He loved and wanted.  He sowed His Only Son, and He reaped a Family… a Family of Sons and Daughters who are Alive with His Life and Full of His Power!

THIRD:  Christmas means that Jesus came to earth.  This message has to do with WHY He came.

Going back to the first Christmas and the 30 years that followed it brings us to a remarkable and miraculous time in Human History. 

(1) Jesus, the Promised One, came to earth in the most uncommon manner.  He was born into a poor family.  He was deprived of the privileges that Royalty usually enjoyed.  His nursery was a barn, His bed was a feed trough, and his blankets were grave clothes.  His first visitors were farm animals and poor shepherds.  He came into the world, and no one noticed!

(2) As He grew in wisdom and stature, He lived among the poor and oppressed.  He was a carpenter… He worked with His hands.  Leaders ignored Him and religious people misunderstood Him.  He was befriended by the common people… the lepers looked for Him.  The blind called for Him.  The sinful sought Him.  The demon possessed cried out to Him.  The poor and forgotten and the hurting and the helpless received Him, Believed Him, Loved Him, and Worshipped Him. 

(3) Jesus was never popular with the Religious Crowd.  He was too radical and revolutionary.  He did not think like they thought, act like they acted or talk like they talked.  He broke tradition and challenged custom.  He did not fit into their mold.  He was Different.

(4) Jesus lived a life like no man had ever lived.  He loved His enemies.  He prayed for His critics.  He forgave His tormentors.  He took time for the little children and confounded the wisest of the wise.  He worked miracles.  He stopped storms.  He healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out devils.  He fed the hungry and visited the poor.  He would not bend to the opinions of men nor seek popularity by compromising His ministry.

But these are not the real reasons He Came to Earth.  I think I know why. 

I.  JESUS CAME TO HEAL A HURTING WORLD

“For God so loved the World He gave…”  Jesus loved so much He left heaven and came to earth. 

At the time He appeared as a Babe in Bethlehem, Israel had been without a Prophet for more than five hundred years.  There had been No Word from Heaven.  No Fresh Revelation.  No Holy Ghost Visitation.  There was No Vision and No Visitation.  Human hearts were stricken with barrenness and emptiness.  God seemed to be gone and heaven appeared to be brass.  Prayers were prayed in vain, and religion had lost its life.  Spiritual Desperation had swept over Israel.

Godly people were at the mercy of a Political Monster.  Rome was in power, and Caesar was their god.  Humanistic philosophers and unbridled immorality ruled.  The Roman Army was cruel, savage, and merciless.  Poor people were the pawns of injustice, slavery, oppression, and fear. 

The sick remained sick until they died.  The lame remained crippled, and the blind remained sightless.  The bruised and broken and found NO ANSWER.  People were hurting and hearts were crying.  Jesus came to HEAL and HURTING WORLD.

TODAY the world is hurting.  Some of you are hurting.  This is not a time of “great joy” and “celebration” it is a time of heaviness, sadness, grief, and despondency.  Some of you are bruised and wounded and lonely and forgotten.  Sin and satan have taken their toll and despair has set in.  Suicide seems logical and quitting is easier than coping.  All the lightheartedness and celebration only send you deeper into despair.  I have news for you GOOD NEWS!  Jesus came to HEAL YOUR HURT!  He is more than a BABE in a MANGER…  HE IS THE LORD GOD WHO REIGNETH FOREVER!  He is here NOW to WORK ON YOUR HEART!

II. JESUS CAME TO BREAK THE SHACKLES OF DEAD RELIGION

At the time of His Birth, Religion had a strangle-hold on the People of God.  It had become their god and it had hidden the One True God.  The Law had become a merciless taskmaster and fear and condemnation had set in.  The Law of Moses had been added to and no less than 613 separate Rigid Rules and Regulations had been imposed on innocent people.  Jesus said of this system:  “They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born, and lay them on men’s shoulders…” 

Religion is what is the matter with the world!  In the name of God religion is killing and slaughtering and murdering in Lebanon, in Iran, in Central and South America.  It is building walls and barriers and it divides and separates men from each other and from God.  It is worshipped in the place of God, and it is served in the place of Jesus.  It has caused deception and it has given place to the devil.  Millions are religious and are religiously going to hell.  Religion Binds… Jesus sets Free!  Religion kills… Jesus gives Life!  Religion separates…. Jesus Reconciles!

Even today, men are known by Religious Titles and Religious Names.  Some are Fundamentalists and Liberals and Moderates… others are Charismatics and non-Charismatics… still others are denominational and non-denominational…. then we have the Catholics and the Protestants…  then the Jews and Pentecostals and Dispensationalists.   Jesus makes us ONE.  When He is declared LORD, we become HIS BODY!  No matter what nationality, race, creed, religion, or color!  Hallelujah! 

Jesus sets men free from the shackles of dead religion.  When He died, the Veil of the Temple was torn from the TOP to the BOTTOM and God Got Out!  “I’m so Glad Jesus set me free… satan had me bound, but Jesus set me free!”

III.  JESUS CAME TO REVEAL GOD TO THE WORLD

His birth answered the question once and for all:  “What is God really like?”

He told those around Him:  “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father…”  Jesus Condescended…. made Himself of “no reputation” and took on the “form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men”  and was “found in fashion as a man…”  Jesus wants the World to Know how WONDERFUL GOD REALLY IS!  He reveals His Nature and shows forth His Glory.  He is LOVE and He is Loving.  He is Kind and Just and Compassionate.  He is Strong and yet Gentle.  He is Truth and He is Life.  He is Powerful and Authorative.  He is a Giver and not a taker.  He is a Healer and not a bearer of sickness.  He is a Multiplier and not a Divider!  He is Abundance and not lack!  If you want to Know God, you will have to first Know Jesus!  “No man cometh unto the Father except by me…” 

Jesus “emptied” Himself of His God-Qualities and His God-Characteristics and came to earth to show us how Wonderful God really is!

IV.  JESUS CAME TO STOP THE  devil.

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested (born), that He might destroy the works of the devil…”  I John 3:8

The devil has three purposes:  (1) to kill  (2) to steal and (3) to destroy.  Jesus has stopped him in all three counts!  Jesus came to give us Life and to give it to us MORE ABUNDANTLY.  Where satan kills, steals, destroys, makes sick, gives diseases, breaks up homes and marriages and takes away strength and happiness… where he enslaves, binds, and restrains….  JESUS CAME to STOP what the devil does.  He has delivered us from the hand of the enemy and set us free from the snare of sin.  satan is defeated and hell is conquered. 

Jesus… the Babe of Bethlehem  is now the LION of the TRIBE of JUDAH!  Get into the real meaning of Christmas… Understand it is more than trees and tinsel and flashing lights… more than gifts and Santa Claus… more than hilarity and revelry…. IT IS GOD’S GIFT TO THE WORLD! 

JESUS IS GOD’S PRESENT TO YOU TODAY  

Word for Today:  December 3

Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise…  Luke 23:43

Here a guilty criminal simply asks Jesus to:  “Remember me when You come into your kingdom…”

• He was not a “church” member.
• He had not been baptized in water.
• He had no character and no good reputation.
• He had run with the wrong crowd.
• He had broken the Law.
• He had violated decency and destroyed that which was innocent and good.
• He was guilty.
• He was worthy of death.

And justice had caught up with him.

Now… this common criminal understood and received what the Jewish Nation and organized religion was blind to comprehend.  Jesus is no respecter of persons!  He loves criminals and drunks and prostitutes and homosexuals and thieves and robbers and murderers… He is color-blind!  He is LORD OF ALL!  He is compassionate and kind and loving and forgiving.  His kingdom is open and available to “whosoever shall call on the Name Jesus…”

How odd that God would choose a murderer as the initial trophy of Divine Grace… cleansed, restored and made acceptable by the Blood of Jesus.

“Grace, Grace, Marvelous Grace…”

Word for Today:  December 2

Forgive.

Father, forgive them… they don’t really know what they are doing…  Luke 23:34

The Revelation of the Person of Jesus in this statement is a Revelation of Forgiveness.  “Forgive them…”

Can you forgive?  Have you forgiven?  Do you have anything against anybody?  Are you holding a “grudge”?  Are you not speaking with someone?  Have you “written off” a previous personal relationship?   What right do you have to harbor unforgiveness in your heart?  Have they done to you what these individuals did to Jesus?

Notice that Jesus looks beyond the outward act into the intents of the human heart… “They do not know what they are doing…”

In essence Jesus is saying “They are not responsible for what they are doing… they are being driven by a force they do not understand… it is the nature of satan in them….Father… be merciful to them… they do not realize what they are doing…”

The force driving of any unforgiveness in your heart is not God.  If it’s not God, then it is pretty obvious who it is…

Love forgives

Jericho was a fortified city.  It stood in the way of the Will of God.  It was a hindrance to the plan and purpose for God’s People.  It was a problem that HAD TO BE DEALT WITH.  Jericho demanded a CONFRONTATION. 

Joshua could not “wish” it away nor could he pretend that it wasn’t there.  It was a walled city.  The wall had a main gate.  The city was ruled over by a king and it was protected by mighty men of valor (6:2). 

Joshua was raised up to lead God’s people into the promised land.  Jericho had to be conquered before progress could continue.  satan always has “walled” cities and “fortifications” and “hindrances”  and “challenges” to threaten and discourage the church. 

Jesus told us that we (the Church) would be enabled and empowered to charge the gates of hell and they would not be able to prevail against us.  There are many gates that need to be opened so that the captives can be set free.  Hell’s gates hold in prison many blessings God intends for the Church.  It is our job… the churches job…  to charge hell’s gates and force them open so that those things and those people held in bondage and captivity can be released.  We have the keys of the kingdom.  Jesus told us that theses keys will open and shut.  They will open things that need opening, and they will shut things that need to be shut. 

The Apostle Paul tells us that though we live in the flesh we do not “war” after the flesh or like the flesh wars.  He reminds us that our (the Believer’s) weapons are not carnal or fleshly, but “mighty through God” to the pulling down of strongholds… fortresses… enemy emplacements.  These weapons will enable us to cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.  They will cause us to bring every thought into captivity and make it bow its knee to Jesus. 

Taking enemy territory is possible but it is demanding.  It is costly.  Most today would just as soon let the devil have the stuff rather than pay the price to get it back.  Warfare is not easy.  It is costly.  But it can invade enemy territory and reclaim and recapture what satan has stolen.   God is preparing his “Green Berets” and his “Commandos” and “swat teams” today. 

There are real Jerichos out there and their walls must come down.  The spoils are waiting for the ones who will be violent enough to get them. 

I see several lessons in the way Joshua conquered Jericho:

1. He listened to God in spite of impossible odds.  And the LORD said unto Joshua…  Josh. 6:2         

The Lord said to Joshua, “I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor…”  

And the Lord said. 

That’s enough! Nothing else is needed!  If God said it nothing more needs to be said.  The Lord said to Joshua, “I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor…”  

It is important that you listen to God.  Joshua did not look at the impossibility… he was not moved by Jericho’s fortifications or the intimidating threats of the enemy.  Are you listening to what God says or you listening to the shouts and threats of the enemy?  What do you think the warriors looking over the wall of Jericho did?  They intimidated, and they threatened, and they challenged, and they ridiculed.  They laughed and they mocked, and they took refuge in their fortification.  Are you listening to the enemy or are you listening to God?  Joshua listened to God.  

Now…  What has God told you?  What has God spoken to you?   What has He said to you about your future?  About your family?  Your marriage?  Your job?  Your ministry?  What direction have you received from the Lord?  What revelation have you gotten from the Word?  Are you hearing what God says or are you listening to the noise and threats of the enemy?  

If God has spoken to you, that’s enough.  That’s all you need.  You heard what God said and so did the devil.  When you believe God and act on what He has said, no enemy can stand before you and no Walled Jericho can stop the plans God has for you.  It’s not time to fight. 

It’s time to shout

2.  He obeyed what God told Him to do.  (6:6).  He did not question the “unreasonable” and the “unnatural” instructions God gave him.  They did not make sense.  They defied all the principles of warfare.  Who ever heard of fighting with trumpets and the shouts of the people?  No arrows.  No spears.  No horses and no chariots.  Nothing ordinary.  Nothing sensible.  Nothing they have ever done in the past.  A new thing.  Change.  Transition.  God is speaking… are you listening?  Obedience is essential.  Disobedience or partial obedience is disastrous.  Only obeying God will tear down the wall and release withheld blessings.

When believers (and especially pastors) obey God, they are often misunderstood.  We march to the beat of a different drummer.  The sound of the trumpet that calls us to battle is not the noise and din and the pandemonium and the cacophony of the cosmos.  We are fine tuned to God’s frequency.  His voice is loud and clear.  No static and no interference.  What He says, we do.  Asking no questions and relying on no reason.  Just God.  But enough.  And more than enough.

You are probably in the Will of God if:

• You  need money and lots of it
• You are in the middle of a mess
• You  need a miracle… right now
• You don’t  know every detail about what you are doing
• You are fighting through afflictions of all kinds
• You are dissatisfied where you are and with what you have
• Nobody is happy with what you are doing
• You are on the raw edge of disaster
• You are facing challenges and  deadlines
• You don’t have everything under control
• Your relatives  think you’re crazy
• You are attempting to accomplish the impossible
• You are  doing the unreasonable the unpredictable and the unusual
• You are  in over your head
• You don’t have a plan B
• You  make waves, create controversy, and draw lines in the sand
• You are  kicking over sacred cows and embarrassing your loved ones
• You are not religious, reverent, and calm and quiet
• You are not held captive by the predictable
• You are not in control
• You are not focused on making everybody love you
• You are not content with where you are
• You have unrealized goals and unreachable accomplishments
• You are not understood by everybody
• You won’t  tolerate that which is morally questionable
• You are not “Religiously correct”
• You care more about your integrity than you do about your image

3. He commanded everybody to keep their mouth shut until God tells them what to say

(6:10).  James mentions that the man that “offends not in word is a perfect man” (James 3:2).  He says that the “tongue is a world (system) of iniquity” and it can “defile the whole body and set on fire the course of nature…” 

God had a good reason when He told Israel to keep quiet until He told them what to say.  Your mouth can keep your Jericho Walls from falling down.  Words of doubt and words of fear and words of criticism will keep your goods walled up and your deliverance from coming.  There are no “short cuts” to victory.  We have survived the era of “quick fix solutions” and “band-aid” theology.  Our glib confessions and our memorized “guaranteed” formulas have come and they have gone (thank God!) and we are now ready to shut up so that we can hear God.  Most of our listening has been done with our mouths.  “Faith comes by Hearing” not by much saying.  Joshua was right when he commanded the people to keep their mouths shut until God told them what to say.  We need to heed this admonition. 

We have so often been snared by the words we speak and hung by the talk of our tongue.  Israel was not to talk the problem or the method of warfare or the seriousness of the situation.  They were to SHUT UP until God told them to SHOUT.  Set a watch over your lips.  Guard your tongue as you would guard a wild animal.  It is capable of setting on fire the course of nature and opening a Pandora’s Box of Iniquity.  Only say what God tells you to say.

4.  Victory did not come until the 7th. Day.  (6:15).  I’m sure many would like to have the victory on the first circuit.  If it was 5 miles around the city, I’m sure many were ready to quit the first day.  But then there was the second. Another 5 miles.    And the third.  Another 5 miles.  The fourth.  Another 5 miles.  Fifth.  Another 5 miles.  And the sixth.  Another 5 miles.  How many grew weary in the process?  This has been a 30-mile ordeal.  After all, how much does God expect of me anyhow?  How many had a “better idea”?  Who had a “new revelation”?   And now it is the Sabbath and 7 times around… that’s 35 more miles.  A total of 65 miles.  No wonder others had a “better idea” or a “higher revelation”… Obedience means sacrifice.  No Cross means no Crown.  No diligence yields no victory.  Many have grown weary and have tired along the way when VICTORY DAY is AT HAND.  Hallelujah.

5.  The Shout came before the Walls fell down.

Josh. 6:16   And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. 

Your walls are coming down.  Your victory is on the way.  Your diligence will be rewarded.  Your purpose will be fulfilled.  It is time.  This is your day.  This is your defining moment.

Shout and Give Glory to God

Word for Today:  December 1

The Word declares:

Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith:  Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God…  Heb. 12:2

How could Jesus possibly have “joy” before Him in the midst of such torture and agony?  How did this “joy” give Him strength to “endure” the cross and bear the shame connected with it?

Why did He not call for “10,000 Angels” to come and loose Him and rescue Him from such pain and shame? He could have!  He willingly laid down His life… for He had declared that

…no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself…  John 10:18

Why?  How?  Because Jesus looked through His Eye of Faith and saw into the future… He saw the time when you and I would hear the Word and Believe it, Act on it, and make it a part of our living and our breathing.  He knew by His death and obedience to the Father, that He would become the Firstborn of many Brethren… that He would establish a New Race and New Breed and New Creation that would crush the head of satan and trample demon powers underfoot.

That is the reason for His Joy in the midst of His suffering, His agony and His death